The popularity of coffee has exploded in recent years. Coffee shops are always packed with people looking for their daily dose of caffeine by drinking espresso, latte, cappuccino, or other coffee beverages.
Another reason why the number of coffee aficionados is growing is due to its reported health benefits. But is it true that coffee can lengthen your lifespan? Well let’s find out!
Great Source Of Antioxidants
When you brew coffee, the hot water flowing through the coffee grounds extracts tonnes of chemicals into the coffee liquid. Most of these chemical compounds contain a key substance to a long lifespan, known as antioxidants.
Antioxidants prevent compounds known as free radicals from causing oxidative stress to your body. Oxidative stress, brought about by the process of oxidation, is the main source of ageing and the development of chronic illnesses such as heart diseases and cancer.
Even though the amount of antioxidants in coffee is not as large as in certain vegetables and fruits, it is still a substantial amount that can provide a decent source of antioxidants in your diet.
Coffee Drinkers Have Longer Lifespans
There have been many experiments conducted over the years that link daily coffee drinking to a lower risk of chronic diseases.
One such study dating back to 2012 tested on over 400,000+ people above the age of 50 to validate this hypothesis. Researchers observed that test subjects who drank coffee most often were much less likely to pass away during the experiment’s study period.
As it turns out, 4 to 5 cups of coffee each day seems to be the golden amount to healthy living (anything more than 5 showed no additional benefit to drinkers). Women who drank this amount of coffee are 16% less likely to die prematurely, while men drinking the same amount also lowered their chances by 12%.
Even if you only drink 1 cup of coffee each day, your risk of premature death is lowered by a decent 5 to 6%, which means that coffee is a very potent drink in ensuring bodily health.
Some of the diseases that coffee may be able to prevent include stroke, cancer, heart attack, diabetes, respiratory problems, and many more. This is why coffee has been very closely related to longer lifespans in recent times.
Other Evidence
Aside from preventing chronic diseases, studies have also shown that coffee reduces your risk of developing certain conditions often associated with old age. This includes Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and liver cirrhosis.
Coffee has also been shown to improve your overall mood. Regular drinkers of java report a much happier outlook on life and are 20 to 53% less likely to develop depression.
Final Word
Based on the studies done so far, there seems to be a positive correlation between drinking coffee daily and a longer lifespan. It can greatly improve your health as well as reduce your risk of experiencing chronic illnesses.
Sure, these experiments cannot put it beyond any doubt that drinking coffee brings those health benefits. However, there is simply too much solid evidence to quickly dismiss these claims. More research is required to truly confirm coffee as one of the healthiest drinks in the world
